


Pursuing Desire

by svtist



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Attempt at Humor, M/M, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 14:19:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14310555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/svtist/pseuds/svtist
Summary: Seokmin’s soulmate dreams start up again after his failed relationship that left him disheartened. This time he’s determined to get it right, but he is faced with obstacles that cloud his objective.





	Pursuing Desire

Seokmin used to lay awake after the break-up with Soonyoung wondering when his soulmate dreams would start up again, but after a year passed his hope slowly diminished. He began to believe that fate fucked up and gave Soonyoung two soulmates and he was just left with the short end of the stick while someone got to hold his first love in their arms.

 

He continues to pack his belongings in a dusty suitcase he hasn’t used since he moved into this apartment two years ago. He tries not to think about the past too much because while he attempts to put on a tough facade, he is quite sensitive. While sorting through his clothing he comes across a flannel that belonged to his ex-boyfriend, he lets out a deep sigh as he allows his memories to rush back.

 

_ Two Years Ago _

 

Seokmin’s first soulmate dream was the day right before his college orientation. Like every other freshman he was pretending not to care about anything other than his edgy facade. But freshmen are also dripping with anxiety, nervous about making friends and how they look. Seokmin, however, was nervous for a different reason and he wondered if his soulmate had the same dream he did. He searched through the sea of unfamiliar faces and hoped that someone was also looking for him. He replays last night in his head like his favorite scene in a film as he sits at an empty table waiting for the room to take their seats.

“Seokmin,” a disembodied voice calls. He slowly opens his eyes and is standing in a white void, completely freaked out. With no one around he hears the man’s voice again, “Seokmin.”

“Wh- God? What the fuck, am I dead?” He looks at his hands expecting to see transparency but he seems normal.

The voice lets out a small chuckle, “Yes, I am God. You have been rejected from entering heaven, we are throwing you down to the ninth ring of hell.”

“What?! I didn’t do anything! I’ve been a model citizen, take Jeonghan he’s the worst person I’ve ever met in my life!”

 

Jeonghan is Seokmin’s best friend from middle school, he’s a year older and is the only person Seokmin can trust. Jeonghan already knows who his soulmate is and has known since elementary school, but continues to play around with other boys. Luckily, Joshua is a very patient soulmate, he understands that Jeonghan is young and not ready to be committed so he sits back and watches over him. Jeonghan’s dream representative is, on the other hand, fed up with his sluttiness and just wants him to settle down so they can move onto a different soul. Seokmin often hears stories of his dreams always ending in a one-sided argument while Jeonghan looks at his nails waiting for the bells to ring. Seokmin can imagine the stress that dream representative goes through, he feels sorry for them because Jeonghan’s smirk tells him that he’s enjoying it.

The laughter fills the void, “I’m kidding, Seok, I’m your dream daddy.”

Seokmin comes to realize what is happening, “Holy shit, I’m having my first soulmate dream,” shortly followed by another realization, “Oh, gross, did you just call yourself my dream daddy?”

“Let me have fun with this,” Seokmin arches a brow, “I’ve been waiting for this asshole to finally come around again.”  _ Again _ ? Seokmin thinks. The voice continues, “This is not your first dream, but I doubt you remember our previous meetings, as you were very young. My, my look at how much you’ve grown!”  

Seokmin scoffs, “Jesus Christ, you’re like a relative I’m meeting for the first time that calls my mom by a nickname and tries to pinch my damn cheeks.”

A ring from a bell urges the voice to speak quickly, “Alright enough chit chat, tomorrow is a very important day for you.”

Seokmin feels a sense of urgency, “Uh I guess, I mean it’s just my college orientation.”

“Exactly. Your soulmate will be at the orientation.”

Chills run down his spine, “Wh-what does he look like?”

The bell rings again, but this time louder, “Our time is up. Until next time, Seokmin.” 

The voice slowly fades out.

“Wait come back, that’s not enough information!” He quickly sits up in his bed, broken into a cold sweat. He reaches for his phone and begins to text,

**Seokmin: Jeonghan**

**Seokmin: Jeonghan**

**Seokmin: Wake**

**Seokmin: The**

**Seokmin: Fuck**

**Seokmin: Up**

 

He waits approximately six and a half seconds and his finger are already on the move again, “Jeon- “

 

**Jeonghan: It’s 3 AM, Seokmin. What the fuck do you want?**

**Seokmin: First of all, let’s not pretend like your boy toy isn’t in your room right now doing things I do not want to know the details for, but you will most likely tell me tomorrow anyway. Who’s this week’s lucky boy again, Seungjun was his name?**

**Seokmin: SECONDLY, I JUST HAD MY SOULMATE DREAM**

**Jeonghan: A. It’s SeungCHEOL, and he’s currently on his third week he’s very entertaining, I might keep him around for a bit longer. B. Don’t act like my stories aren’t fascinating, I meet some pretty weird dudes. Remember Junhui? An absolute FREAK. But I liked it.**

**Jeonghan: AND C. I’M ON MY WAY OVER.**

 

**Seokmin: Joshua sweetie I’m so sorry.**

From that day forward, both of their dreams seemed to have pointed towards each other and as they grew closer the more they fell in love. Until halfway through sophomore year, Soonyoung’s soulmate dreams began once again. They mutually decided to go their separate ways while still remaining friends but feeling guilty that their dreams had misled them. The friendship, however, was short-lived as Soonyoung wanted to focus on meeting his real soulmate and Seokmin was just in the way.

 

_ Present  _

 

Seokmin’s third year of college starts tomorrow and he’s both nervous and excited. He’s still not sure what he wants to do, but he’s had a passion for music for as long as he can remember. He’s thought about teaching music classes to students or maybe auditioning for an entertainment company, but his long-term goal is to learn to compose and produce music. Seokmin meets with his trainer, Jihoon, twice a week to work on this. Jihoon is remarkably talented and inspires Seokmin to one day produce for top idols like he does. Jeonghan always complains that Jihoon takes up too much of Seokmin’s time, but they both know he just wants all the time they have before he’s chained to textbooks forever. Jeonghan is in his last year before he graduates and goes to law school, so he’s trying to live, drink and party as much as he can before then. Seokmin’s always saying he’s going to make an awfully amazing lawyer and to keep the friendship safe, just in case. It amazes him how the boy that would buy him alcohol when he was still underage and has tried every drug, at least twice, will be on the same side of the law one day.

 

He’s decided to dorm instead of off-campus housing this year and is nervous to meet his roommate. He should have moved into the dorm the weekend before classes start up again, but saying goodbye to his run-down apartment is harder than he expected it to be. Seokmin falls into his bed, exhausted after his last-minute packing, and checks his phone. 

 

No notifications. Of course. With an empty pit in his stomach, he lets the sleep take over.

 

“Seokmin,” a familiar atmosphere takes over Seok’s body as he opens his eyes to the familiar scene from two years ago. “Long time no see kid” snickers the intangible voice. 

 

Seokmin quickly comes to his senses, “Oh my god.”

 

“Y’know when two entities meet after some time a greeting usually takes place. Maybe a ‘hey, how have you been?’ or ‘I’ve missed you, old friend!’”

 

Without thinking, Seokmin begins to blurt out all of his feelings, “You asshole. Why did you lead me towards Soonyoung and then disappear after we got too deep with each other knowing that we weren’t each other's soulmates? Do you know how long I’ve waited for this? To hear your fucking voice, for you to tell me that there’s been a mistake. I spent months praying every night and drinking myself stupid before I fell asleep to come back here and you’re making jokes? You’re laughing?” He’s shaking now, his fists and teeth clenched as he’s unable to control his emotions, “Where the fuck have you been while I was suffering?!”

 

The dream representative remains cool towards Seokmin’s outburst, “Easy, Seok, I’m not here to play the devil and trick you into the wrong arms. My job is to give you indicators on who your soulmate is and when they are about to enter your life, what you do with that information is out of my control. Both you and Soonyoung misinterpreted the clues which led to your inevitable solitaire. After you had chosen Soonyoung, your actual soulmate was far out of reach and therefore I could not come in contact with you anymore.” 

 

The routine first warning bell rings and Seokmin is flushed with every emotion he’s ever felt, “You mean, this is my fault? I did this to me?” He puts his face in hands trying to comprehend the words that are suffocating him.

 

“Let go of him,” Seokmin shoots his head up expecting to see a human but is instead faced with the whiteness of the room, “As much as you miss him and love him, Soonyoung is nothing to you. He never will be. Listen to me, I’m back, which means so is he. It’s not over yet, just listen to me carefully now so you don’t repeat your mistakes. Don’t be so rushed to jump on the first person who might look like the right size to your puzzle piece, because no matter how hard you try to make it fit, some things are just not meant to be. He’s back at your school. He left for some time and he’s transferred back.”

 

The second warning bell rings, “A returning student?” Seokmin whispers to himself, then clears his throat trying to swallow every word he had ever said to Soonyoung, “Can you tell me more?”

 

The voice is faint, “I’m sorry Seokmin, we’re out of time. Remember everything I’ve told you.”

 

The white room fades and Seokmin sits up on his bed with the voice still echoing in his brain. “Someone who took a gap semester?” he begins to speak to himself, “what kind of hint is that, the school has like a hundred transfers every damn semester.” A short silence fills the empty, cold apartment, Seokmin’s heart slowly begins to race and the corners of his mouth slightly turned upwards, “He really is out there, huh?” A tremendous amount of anxiety lifts off of Seokmin’s back that he wasn’t even aware has made a home in him. He lets out a sigh without realizing and stares at the dark ceiling before returning to his slumber. 

 

The morning came too soon and Seokmin had his alarm blasting in his ear. It seemed like a good idea to him to wake up an hour early to give him time to move into his dorm and still make it to his morning class, but with the unplanned visit last night there isn’t enough sleep in him to make it to the bathroom. 

 

When he finally does manage to wake up and wash up, he’s half an hour behind schedule. He took out fresh clothes from his closet, ignoring the outfit he had already planned the night before and double checked the apartment he would temporarily be saying farewell to. He rests his arm on his suitcase and checks his phone, “Oh fuck, I’m late!” He already missed the bus that drops off students at the college so instead, he orders a Lyft. Those fuckers make bank off broke, late college students. 

 

A few minutes go by and his ride pulls up and Seokmin puts his luggage in the trunk before taking a seat in the back, “Pledis University, please.” 

 

The driver looks at Seokmin through the rearview mirror, “Would you mind if I picked up another student? It’s just on the way.”

 

“Sure, that’s not a problem.” He was already behind schedule, might as well help another irresponsible soul. 

 

The university is twenty-five minutes away and fifteen minutes in, the driver pulls into an unfamiliar driveway. After the first honk the door slowly begins to open and steps outside with an extremely expensive looking suitcase. Seokmin scoffs under his breath, “rich people” and watches his long legs take each step towards the cab. The driver pops the trunk and Seokmin gets out of the car to adjust his suitcase, “Here let me make more space.”

 

The sun gleams on the stranger’s already beautifully tanned skin, “Thank you.” He proceeds to put his suitcase beside Seok’s and shuts the trunk. He gives Seokmin a slight bow and enters the passenger seat. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes and think to himself,  _ handsome, rich and polite _ .  _ How perfect can this guy be? _

 

The remaining ten minutes, Seokmin tries not to stare too much at the stranger in the front but every time he tries to look away he finds his eyes disobeying him. His skin is perfectly clear and a mole sits right above his sharp, sun-kissed jaw. He’s wearing sunglasses, despite the fact that it’s partly cloudy, must be a wealthy person thing. On top of that, he looks like he stepped out of a fashion magazine. Seokmin whips out his phone and aggressively starts typing out a message.

 

**Seokmin: When are you getting rich so you can support me financially. Hurry up and start earning those lawyer bucks.**

 

**Jeonghan: What’s got you so sensitive this morning, my sugar baby?**

 

**Seokmin: Kill me. Nothing, I’m just sharing a Lyft with Mr. Perfect. Why does life hate me?**

 

**Jeonghan: I know I should be more concerned about why you’re not moved into your dorm yet and prepping for your morning class, but Mr. Perfect you say? Tell me more.**

 

**Seokmin: Wow, what are friends for. He’s, A, tall, I’m talking skyscraper. B, rich, I’m sure I can sell his tissue on eBay for a thousand dollars. And C, sculpted by God himself, the man looks like literal art. Also, I overslept because I had my soulmate dream, if you care to know.**

 

**Jeonghan: Oh my God, he sounds dreamy, pop my number in his jacket. Wait you saw him first, you can call dibs. But more importantly, YOUR DREAMS ARE BACK? I have a gap at 2:00, meet me at Healing Café, we have lots to discuss.**

 

**Seokmin: Yeah let me just go up to him and give him a paper with your phone number and say, “I have a friend that has never seen you before but wants to fuck you. Give him a ring.” I don’t want dibs, you can have him but I’m also not matchmaking. I’ll see you at 2.**

 

**Jeonghan: Lame.**

 

Before they reach their destination, the stranger breaks the silence, “Could you leave me at the main entrance, please?” The driver nods and pulls up to the front of the school as asked and the boy hands him a $20 tip. Seokmin scoffs in disbelief,  _ dude, it’s like a $12 cab ride. We get it, you’re rich show off. _ He proceeds to get off, Seokmin watches him remove his luggage from the car and walk towards the entrance. The driver pulls away before he could make it inside the building, but his eyes don’t break with the tall figure until he completely disappears. 

 

They pull up to the dorms and Seokmin tips the driver $3, he does not receive the same smile the driver gave to the boy earlier. He unloads his luggage and looks for his room. “Room 114, 115, 116” he counts to himself until he reaches his room, “117, here we go.” 

 

He opens the door to the empty room and sets his stuff down on the unoccupied bed. He examines his roommate's space while he’s alone. The walls are bare and his desk has nothing on it but a folder and pencil. The only difference to Seokmin’s side is the large-scale bookshelf he seemed to have brought from home. Seokmin looks at the time and realized class starts in seven minutes and it’s a five-minute walk from his room to the classroom. “Shit, shit, shit” he quickly fixes his bag and sprints out the door. 

 

His first class is a mandatory class for all third years, it’s a communications class that will help build human relationship and interaction skills to prepare students for their careers. It’s the class Seokmin is dreading the most because he knows no one in the class. 

 

Seokmin’s second class is Keyboard Skills III, where he feels more relaxed in the art building. He goes to the music room way too early to familiarize himself with the room and runs into Seungkwan. 

 

Seokmin’s face lights up when he spots him in the room, “Seungkwan,” he turns and waves at him, “It’s been a while how was your break?” 

 

Seungkwan stands up and gives him a warm hug, “It was good, ended too soon. Hansol and I went to New York for Christmas and then Cali for New Years. What did you do over break?” 

 

Seokmin thinks about lying to make his life seem more interesting, but Seungkwan is good at looking through people, “Nothing, I just had lessons with Jihoon and chilled with Jeonghan. Nothing extravagant. But, wow, NYC and Cali! That sounds amazing.” Seokmin could tell that he was trying to read his face so he flashed him a smile to distract him. 

 

Wherever Seungkwan is, usually Hansol is nearby. They’re both a year younger than Seokmin. He met Seungkwan when he joined the school choir, and Hansol just showed up to every rehearsal for moral support. From the stories he was told, the two met in elementary school and grew up knowing they were each other’s soulmates. They’re pretty much inseparable and Seokmin is very so jealous. 

 

After class, Seokmin starts heading over to the school café to meet with Jeonghan as planned. He checks his phone and realizes he’s quite early, so he decides to go back to the dorm to drop off his heavy bag. He opens the door to the room to what appears to be his roommate asleep on his bed with a book covering his face. 

 

Seokmin carefully sets his bag on his bed and leaves without waking him up. He’s not good with meeting people for the first time, so the longer he can prolong meeting face to face with this new guy, the better. 

 

At two o'clock on the dot, Jeonghan walks into the café and takes a seat next to Seokmin, “What’s up, buttercup?”

 

Seokmin rolls his eyes, “I saw my roommate”

 

Jeonghan’s eyes widen, “What’s he like? Is he hot?”

 

“Uh, I only saw his body.” Seokmin tries to reword his sentence before Jeonghan jumps to conclusions, “I mean he was asleep with a book open on his face when I walked in. I didn’t want to wake him so I just left. But he’s really skinny and seems like a simple person. His side of the room is so empty, there are just shelves of books.”

 

“Hm, a bookworm. Interesting.” Jeonghan quickly changes the subject, “Oh, right! Your soulmate dream, what did he say?”

 

Before Seokmin gets a chance to answer the café bell chimes, which indicates someone has entered the shop, and he sees a familiar face, “Speaking of soulmates.”

 

Jeonghan turns around and faces the door, “Ah, Joshua come join us.” 

 

Joshua spots us and pulls up a chair, “Hey Jeonghan,” he stares at him with so much affection, “Hey Seok, long time no see.” He gives him a warm smile.

 

"Seokmin and I were just talking about his dream. He’s back, can you believe it?”

 

Joshua wants Seokmin to find his soulmate almost as much as he wants Jeonghan to finally settle down, “Oh my god, Seok, that’s amazing! You must be so happy.”

 

Seokmin lets out a shy smile, “All he said was that he’s a returning student. But how am I supposed to find out who that is? I don’t know anyone here that could have left and come back. And if I did, there are so many kids here, there’s like a new batch every semester.”

 

“I do see how that’s a problem,” Jeonghan pauses, “I guess you’ll just have to wait until another dream for more information.”

 

“Don’t worry, Seok, you’ll find him. Try not to rush it. I know you’re excited, but make sure you get it right this time.” Joshua puts Seokmin’s heart at ease and it’s moments like this that makes him hate Jeonghan for keeping him waiting. 

 

As time passes the three boys order coffee and share some bread while chatting like they haven’t seen each other in months. The bell chimes again and Seokmin is faced with an amazing situation, “Oh shit,” Jeonghan and Joshua turn around to see what was happening, “Th-that’s the boy from this morning.” 

 

Jeonghan’s jaw drops, “ _ That’s _ Mr. Perfect?”

 

Seokmin nods, “Wow, Jeonghan, today is your lucky day.” He notices Joshua’s face drop and immediately wishes he hadn’t said anything. 

 

“Maybe not,” Jeonghan chuckles lightly, “he’s meeting a girl. What a shame.” He turns around and takes another sip of his coffee. Seokmin stares at the stranger until he receives his coffee and walks out with the strange girl. 

 

Seokmin sulks back to his dorm alone. He made up an excuse about meeting up with his professor to give Jeonghan and Joshua some privacy in hopes they become closer. In all honesty, Joshua is the closest to Jeonghan even if they aren’t official yet. They haven’t slept together even though Joshua is extremely sexy and Jeonghan is, well Jeonghan. This just means that he cares about Joshua and wants everything to be perfect when they do eventually establish their relationship.

 

He makes it back to the dorm and enters quietly, hoping that his roommate was out. Unfortunately, Seokmin’s bad luck continues. This time he’s awake, reading the same book that had covered his face earlier. He looks up with his sharp eyes and it’s as if needles just shot through Seokmin’s body. He quickly greets him, “Hi, I’m Seokmin I’m a third year and I just moved in this morning. This is my first year living on campus, I’ll try to not be a shitty roommate. Nice to meet you.” He’s completely rambling, but that’s just because he’s intimidated.

 

The boy stands up to greet him back, “Hello, I’m Jeon Wonwoo and I’m a senior. Nice to meet you.” He returns to his original position and flips the page of his almost completed book. His half-assed greeting gave Seokmin the chills. He stood there frozen until Wonwoo looked up from his book and cocked an eyebrow, Seokmin gave a slight bow and went to the student lounge. He wasn’t too sure what to do now, because the reality was he wanted to take a nap in his own bed. Instead, he takes out his phone and researches a little bit. 

 

**Seokmin: What do you know about Jeon Wonwoo?**

 

**Jeonghan: I’ve had him in a few lit classes. He’s not really a speaker, but a fantastic writer. We would peer review each other’s work, he’s an interesting character.**

 

**Seokmin: Hm. Well, he’s my roommate. I feel like I’m going to have to hold my breath so the sound of my breathing doesn’t annoy him.**

 

**Jeonghan: That’s uncomfortable. Good luck, I’m sure you’ll get closer. Btw, you didn’t really need to meet with your professor, right? It’s the first day of school, for fucks sake.**

 

**Seokmin: I have homework, bye.**

 

The night came sooner than Seokmin realized and he was ready for bed after washing up and brushing his teeth. Wonwoo has been in and out of the room, letting Seokmin breathe comfortably for a bit and shower with no awkward run-ins. He changes into pajamas and lays in bed staring at the plain ceiling. He wonders if he’ll dream tonight, but learned to not anticipate it, because he’ll only be let down when it doesn’t happen. He rolls over and turns off his lamp and shuts his eyes. With the room all to himself for the moment, he lets his guard down and the sleep sweeps him away.

 

Seokmin wakes up the next morning feeling bitter he wasn’t able to connect with his dream representative, but he knows that it’s not a guaranteed nightly event. He rolls over to face Wonwoo’s side of the room. The older boy is fast asleep with his glasses still on. Seokmin chuckles lightly,  _ why do I keep running into the hottest guys in the country? _ He goes to wash up and meets Seungkwan and Hansol for a quick breakfast at Starbucks before Junior Communications. Whoever named these classes needs to get fired. 

 

Seokmin shows up to class fifteen minutes early for some alone time, but there are already students in the class getting to know each other. He almost joins them to make some friends but then he remembers that he’s really not in the mood, so he takes the seat he took the class before. The room fills up as the class is about to start and the professor is writing on the board the plan for today:  **Partner up with another student and ask questions to get to know them. Ex. Name? Major? Pets? Goals in life?** Seokmin sinks into his seat. “Maybe I’ll just skip today” he whispers to himself, “just today.” He wasn’t in the mood to play icebreaker with a stranger so he packs up his bag. 

 

As he begins to stand, a student enters the classroom.  _ M-mr. Perfect _ . The tall boy apologizes to the professor for his tardiness and looks for a seat in the crowded classroom. Seokmin still does not know what possessed him to do what he was about to do, but as soon as the boy looks at his side of the room, Seokmin waves his hand over to gesture the empty desk next to him. He tenses up as the stranger makes his way over, looking like he’s on a runway, and settles next to Seokmin. 

 

“Thank you,” he gives a crooked smile.

 

Seokmin nods and averts his attention back to the balding professor, even though the real view is to his left. 

 

Without hesitation the class finally begins, “Alright class, I know you’re used to the first day of classes being the introduction thing that you all hate, but I wanted to switch things up. As you all know, last class we reviewed the syllabus and what you should expect from me. Really not a hard class, just show up and open your mouth when asked,” this made some students giggle, “So, for today I’m going to ask you to partner up, preferably with someone you don’t already know, and get to know each other a bit. I have written some examples on the board of what you can ask, but please don’t limit yourself to these boring questions and have fun with this. Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to introduce each other to the rest of the class, but I do have something up my sleeve. Now, converse!” 

 

Seokmin turns to his right, but people seemed to have already chosen their partners. Leaving him with no choice he turns to the model-like boy and smiles, “Seems like I keep running into you.”

 

“Seems so.”

 

“I’m Lee Seokmin.” He reaches out his hand, feeling nervous.

 

The boy firmly grips his hand and smiles with his eyes, “Kim Mingyu. Nice to properly meet you.”

 

He almost didn’t want to let go of his hand, but broke away after the short shake, “So, uh, you skipped the first day, huh? That’s a fat mood for this semester.” Seokmin knew he sounded like an idiot, but can’t help but ramble when he’s nervous.

 

“Not intentionally. I just had to fix up a few things at the advisor's office, I had emailed the professor beforehand. But I noticed you also had a suitcase in the trunk, are you living on campus?”

 

Seokmin suddenly feels shy as he wasn’t expecting him to remember anything about their first meeting, “Oh, yeah. It’s my first semester in the dorms even though this is my third year,”  _ Obviously you idiot, we’re in a junior’s class _ , “I lived off campus alone, but I needed change.” He glances at the board for guidance, “So, what’s your major?”

 

The one thing Seokmin notices about Mingyu is his strong eye contact, as he hasn’t broken it since they began to speak, “I’m a fashion design major. I would like to have my own brand one day,” He sees a gleam in Mingyu’s eyes, “Kiming Co.” 

 

Seokmin smiles lightly, he finds his passion for fashion extremely cute. “Is the name still a work in progress?”

 

“Why, is it not good?” Seokmin gives him an ambiguous smile, “You’re right, I should keep brainstorming. What about you, what do you want to do?”

 

“Uh, well I love music and I sing a bit,” Seokmin clears his throat, “I want to be an artist and make music while also providing music for other people. I just want to create music that people can listen to and enjoy. I’m also in the school choir, and sometimes I partake in musicals. Wow, take a shot for every time I just said music,” he chuckled nervously, “Do you do anything on campus?”

 

“Music? That’s amazing, I bet you sound great.” Seokmin feels his face heating up from the unexpected compliment, “And I used to play for the basketball team freshman year, I might try out again or maybe another sport. I like to stay active when I can. Also, that’s five music’s, six if we count musical.”

 

“Our first conversation and I’m already getting you drunk,” Seokmin laughs, “Is there a reason you didn’t play last year?”

 

“Well it’s kind of a long story,” Seokmin didn’t mind, he could listen to him speak forever, “Last year I-” Mingyu then gets cut off by the professor.

 

“Alright class, attention back up here. Now that you have gotten to know each other a bit, starting tomorrow that is your permanent partner for the rest of semester.” Seokmin feels the sweat start to form on his skin at the thought of speaking to Mingyu on a daily basis. “Did you like your partner? Good! Did you not like your partner? Oh well. There will be no trading or swapping whatsoever. In your careers, you will be faced with people that you do not like and there is nothing you can do about it. This will prepare you to learn how to deal with someone you do not like, or maybe even find things in each other that changes your initial opinion. Before you leave I advise you to find some sort of way to get in contact with your partner outside of the classroom to deepen your relationship. That being said, you are all free to go.”

 

Seokmin slings his backpack over his shoulder and walks out of the classroom. As he’s about to leave the building he hears footsteps approaching him quickly, “Seokmin, wait up!” He turns around to see Mingyu catching up to him, “Let’s walk together.”

 

The two boys are now synchronized with their footsteps, not knowing where their destination is. Seokmin turns to the taller boy, “Do you want to grab a drink?” Mingyu nods his head smiling, which gives Seokmin a bad case of the butterflies. 

 

They head over to Healing Café and Seokmin takes a seat in the corner booth, “What do you normally get?” Mingyu asks, looking taller than ever as he towers over Seokmin.

 

“Whatever you get is fine,” Seokmin reaches for his wallet but Mingyu has already walked away. He takes advantage of this to be on his phone.

 

**Seokmin: STORYTIME: I have a sugar daddy?!?!?**

 

**Wonwoo: Excuse me?**

 

**Seokmin: OH, SHIT WRONG NUMBER. I’M SO SORRY.**

 

He nearly throws his phone across the room out of embarrassment. Seokmin and Wonwoo exchanged numbers the night before in case one of them has an emergency with the room. Emergency being Seokmin forgetting his key and being locked out. The only message was from Wonwoo reading, “This is Wonwoo” So Seokmin could save it. He planned on going back to the room before his second class, but now he doesn’t want to face Wonwoo for a decade. He tries again but this time carefully.

 

**Seokmin: I’m moving to Antarctica. I’m going to live with the Eskimos and never leave my igloo.**

 

**Jeonghan: Tell that to global warming.**

 

**Seokmin: Fuck me.**

 

**Jeonghan: Is that an offer? You’ve turned me down all of the times I’ve asked.**

 

**Seokmin: Shut up. So, two (2) things just happened that I need to tell you before I drop out of school and live on the streets.**

 

**Jeonghan: Lay it on me.**

 

Mingyu arrives back at the table with two iced Americanos, he sets them down and sits across from Seokmin. “I hope it tastes alright.” 

 

Seokmin took a sip and the bitterness filled his mouth, “It tastes good,” he lied. He reaches for his wallet again, “How much was it?”

 

Mingyu denies his money, “Don’t worry about it, it’s on me. It’s the least I can do since we’re going to be seeing each other a lot.” He slides his phone towards Seokmin, “What’s your number? It’s probably a good idea to keep in contact for future projects or assignments or whatever.”

 

Seokmin enters his number and slides it back, he watches Mingyu type something and a second later he receives a message: 

 

**#: It’s Mingyu ~**

 

Seokmin couldn’t help but smile. 

 

After all of his classes and choir practice ends he makes his way back to the dorm, extremely exhausted. He flops down on his bed face first and lets out a sigh. Wonwoo enters the room shortly after and sits on his bed across from Seokmin. He sits up to face him, remembering the mistake earlier and is too embarrassed to say anything. “Seokmin,” he looks up at Wonwoo’s stoic expression, “When is a car not a car?”

 

Silence. “E-Excuse me, what?”

 

“When is a car not a car?”

 

Seokmin lowers his voice, “I don’t know... when?”

 

“When it’s ajar.”

 

Just like that, Seokmin’s anxiety flies out the window. He begins to chuckle lightly at the lame joke, which quickly snowballed into a louder laugh. Wonwoo, looking and feeling pleased with himself, rests his head against the wall and flips the page to his never ending novel. 

 

**Seokmin: Sorry for leaving you on read. I was. Busy.**

 

**Jeonghan: Were you getting dicked down or dicking someone down?**

 

**Seokmin: You just can’t be PG for a second, can you? Well, I have Mr. Perfect in my comm class, his name is Mingyu and we might have gone to the café and chatted for a bit. He asked for my number and now I’m just staring at his message ‘It’s Mingyu ~’. He’s cute, I guess.**

 

**Seokmin: Also, I might have texted Wonwoo thinking it was you. [sends screenshot]**

 

**Jeonghan: DO YOU, LEE SEOKMIN, HAVE A CRUSH? ALSO, THAT’S GOLD. SLEEP WITH ONE EYE OPEN TONIGHT. I CAN’T STOP LAUGHING.**

 

**Seokmin: I can’t afford to have a crush, I’m looking for my soulmate. Mingyu is way out of my league anyway, there’s no way he’d ever be interested in me. And regarding Wonwoo, that’s what I thought too, but as soon as I came back to the dorms he made the lamest dad joke I have ever heard. He really isn’t all bookworm and quiet like everyone thinks, he has a personality and I’m now Wonwoo Protection Squad™ President.**

 

**Jeonghan: So, you have two crushes? What if one of them is your soulmate? $20 on Mr. Perfect.**

 

**Seokmin: Shut up, I have zero crushes. My dream said he’s a returning student, Mingyu was on the basketball team and you had Wonwoo in previous classes, it’s impossible. I have to sleep now, goodnight.**

 

**Jeonghan: I’m still putting $20 on Mingyu. Goodnight, pumpkin. Mwah!**

 

The next month and a half, Seokmin has a total of 4 dreams. All completely useless. “When I dreamt freshman year, he said that we met when we were younger, but I don’t know anyone from my childhood. The only person I’ve met before graduating is Jeonghan and it’s definitely not Jeonghan. Let's see,” he takes advantage of the empty dorm to try and piece together the fragments of his dreams, “One: He’s a returning student. I still haven’t met anyone that has said anything about that. Two: He’s a third year. Because that really narrows it down.” He’s only a tiny bit upset that it rules out Wonwoo, but it’s probably for the best. “Three: We have already met in person. Now does that mean I’ve only bumped into them or we are on speaking terms?” This still does not help, Jeonghan has been dragging Seokmin to campus parties so he’s met more people than he wished to. He knew he was going to regret this when it came down to his clues, but he couldn’t say no. “Four: This one’s questionable. Was it a soulmate dream?” 

 

The night Seokmin’s fourth dream occurred he had just come back from a bar after being out with a few friends. Jeonghan planned a small get together with Seokmin, Mingyu, Joshua, Seungkwan, Hansol, Wonwoo, Chan, and Minghao. There were also a few of Minghao’s friends that tagged along that Seokmin recognized from previous classes. Jeonghan was pouring Seokmin drink after drink throughout the night, knowing that he can’t handle alcohol that well. He kept taking the shots without questioning, since they were all having fun with each other’s company. He had not realized his vision was becoming blurry and was slowly losing grip of reality.

 

“Mingyu,” Jeonghan winks him, “Do you think you can take Seokmin back to his dorm. I think I might have poured him a few too many.” Mingyu nods and does as he’s asked. Once he’s back at the dorms he’s already fast asleep, that is when the dream began. 

 

This dream was different than any of the others. The usual setting is a white room with just Seokmin and his dream representative. This time the room was red and up in flames, 

 

“SEOKMIN,” the voice was distorted, deeper and louder than the previous meetings, “OPEN YOUR EYES, SEOKMIN.”

 

Seokmin shot his eyes open and sat up with panicked breaths, but remained trapped in the room of fire. “Where am I? Is this actually hell?”

 

“OPEN YOUR EYES.”

 

“What? My eyes are open. Who are you?”

 

“NO, YOU IDIOT. RIGHT FUCKING IN FRONT OF YOU.”

 

“What the fuck is going on?” Seokmin bursts into flames and he screamed even though it wasn’t hurting him. He heard the echo of the voice telling him to open his eyes while he continued to burn. He woke up from his nightmare, gasping for air and sweating like he just ran a marathon. He looked around the empty room and felt all of the alcohol and his dinner coming back up. He held his mouth, hopped off his bed and tripped, falling face first on the floor. 

 

“Shit, what the f-” He looked down to see a body lying on the floor, “Wonwoo?” He gets a closer look to see the familiar jaw shape, small mole, and tan skin. 

 

As he realized Mingyu’s identity, his eyes widened like he was trespassing forbidden territory. He couldn’t help but stare at the sleeping boy. Eyes closed, light breathing, looking even more beautiful under the moonlight shining through the window. Seokmin’s arm begun to move on its own and placed his hand on the unconscious boy’s cheek. His skin was so smooth and warm. Seokmin’s stomach rumbled again, reminding him why he had gotten up in the first place. He placed a blanket over Mingyu and headed into the bathroom.

 

The memory ends and Seokmin pulls himself back into reality, “Uh, four: Open your eyes? My eyes are always open unless I’m sleeping. This doesn’t make any sense. Five: ‘We’re winding down to our final meetings’ What does that mean? None of these hints point to anyone!” Seokmin grabs his hair out of frustration and sinks into his bed, “I’m never going to find him.” 

 

Suddenly, the impossible happens. “Seokmin.” He begins to look around his dorm room to look for the source of the voice.   _ What’s going on? Why do I hear my dream representative? I’m awake _ . The voice continues, “Don’t be scared, it’s just me.”

 

“Well, no shit it’s just you. How are you here?” Seokmin cringes, “It’s kind of weird talking to you while I’m awake. Wonwoo can walk in at any time and here I am talking to myself.”

 

The voice sounds kind of offended, “You’re not talking to yourself. I’m right here, you brat.”

 

“Obviously,” he makes a gesture with his arms, “but WHERE are you?”

 

“Hm. Alright, point taken. Listen, I can’t be here for long,” Seokmin focuses on the voice, “I’m doing this because out of every human I have ever helped you were the first person who made me feel like something more than just a voice. Every meeting we joked and laughed and I just don’t want to see you get hurt again. Stop overthinking all of the hints, you’re making it so much more difficult than it is. Your soulmate. He’s right there. Just grab him.”

 

“He is?” Seokmin’s brain hurts more than it did ten minutes ago, “Am I just dumb or blind? Why can’t I see what you’re seeing?”

 

“A little bit of both. Honestly, I like talking to you and part of me hates to see you go, but an even bigger part of me hates seeing you suffer. I have to go, Seokmin, I’ll see you again.” 

 

The voice fades out and Seokmin is alone again. 

 

A knock on the door follows shortly after. Seokmin snaps out of his daze and stands, “It’s unlocked.” The door creaks open and Mingyu’s on the other side. A wave of embarrassment sweeps over him as he stands there in the horse pajamas that Jeonghan had given him on Seokmin’s 16th birthday. 

 

Mingyu lets out a small giggle, “Cute pants.”  Seokmin is now blushing. The taller boy approaches him, “I was just wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat with me?” 

 

“Sounds awesome,” he gives a soft smile, “Uh, let me just change out of… this.”

 

Mingyu takes a seat on his bed, “Sure.”

 

Seokmin is aware of the situation. He’s not shy about his body, he’s actually pretty confident with his build, especially his thighs, but he feels different in front of Mingyu. He opens his drawer and takes out a pair of blue jeans. 

 

Mingyu springs up from the bed, “Here, let me help you.” He takes the jeans from Seokmin and puts them back. He rustles through his pants and pulls out ripped black jeans, similar to the ones Mingyu is wearing. “These are nice.” He hands the pants to Seokmin and moves onto his closet, “Is this where your shirts are?” He gives the boy a light nod and watches him go through his tops as if he’s shopping. “Let’s go back to my dorm, I’ll let you borrow one.” Seokmin tries not to feel offended that his clothing is not to the standard of his taste, but as to be expected from his high-end personality. 

 

Seokmin has never actually been to Mingyu’s dorm and he was oddly nervous to enter it. The taller boy unlocks the door and they step inside. He was one of the lucky students in a single room, but he probably paid for that. It doesn’t even look like a college dorm, it seems very luxurious and Seokmin felt out of place. He steps inside shadowing Mingyu’s footsteps and tries not to touch anything. Mingyu makes his way to the garment rack with six shirts all spaced out so they don’t touch each other. He picks up a plain black tee with a designer logo on the left chest. The taller boy turns around, towering over Seokmin, and completely takes off his shirt. His eyes are now fixed on the rich boy who is dressing him like one of his runway models. Seokmin cannot hide his flushed cheeks. 

 

“You look like a million bucks,” Mingyu flashes his canines, “How about burgers?”

 

Seokmin waits at the table while Mingyu grabs their meal and tries to put the pieces together. The two of them have been seeing each other every day since they exchanged numbers and they’re almost inseparable. Jeonghan doesn’t miss an opportunity to tease them about each other when they’re together, so Seokmin stopped inviting him out when it’s just the two of them. Despite developing a deep friendship with Mingyu, he still feels like he knows nothing about him. At the same time, he also feels electricity when their arms accidentally brush whenever they walk side by side. 

 

Mingyu comes back to the table with their food, “Let’s eat up!”

 

“Are you interested in girls?” Seokmin blurts out as his curiosity gets the best of him. The time when he was at Healing Cafe with Jeonghan, Mingyu had left with a girl and it haunted Seokmin with sleepless nights wanting to know her identity. Mingyu’s face is surprised at the sudden question. “I mean,” Seokmin explains, “I used to see you with a girl around campus. I was wondering if she was your girlfriend. Or still is your girlfriend. I was just curious.” He feels stupid prying into his personal life and regrets saying anything. What he really wants to know if he knows who his soulmate is, but that’s a sensitive topic to bring up to anyone so he decides to keep his mouth shut.

 

Mingyu reassures Seokmin with his soft smile that makes him weak, “She’s just a student who works in the advising office. We had to go over some of my paperwork for the first few days. Hardly anything romantic or steamy going on there.” Without breaking eye contact Mingyu leans in on the table, “But I do have my eyes on someone in particular. I hope that satisfies your curiosity.” He sits back in his chair and bites into his sandwich. 

 

Seokmin has chills going down the back of his spine and asks what he’s been wanting to ask from the moment they met in class, “Remember when you told me you played basketball freshman year?” Mingyu nods while still focused on his food, “Why didn’t you play sophomore year?”

 

“Well after freshman year ended things got a bit rough,” he’s looking down now, “Right before the first semester of sophomore year was supposed to start up-” Mingyu’s phone begins to ring and his face hardens, “Oh, sorry I have to take this.” He picks up the phone and steps outside. 

 

The interruption irritates Seokmin but also relieves him. He’s not too sure he wants to know the truth. What if he’s forcing the puzzle pieces into Mingyu and it doesn’t fit? Seokmin feels his phone vibrate and checks the incoming message.

 

**Jeonghan: There’s a party this weekend at Junhui’s apartment. You down?**

 

**Seokmin: I’m not really in the mood.**

 

**Jeonghan: C’mon, let loose for the night. You can bring Mingyu.**

 

**Seokmin: Fine. I’ll ask him.**

 

**Jeonghan: Sweet. I’ll text you the details later.**

 

Mingyu makes his way back to the table, “Sorry, family business.”

 

He’s never mentioned his family before, “Do they live around here?” He pauses, “Sorry, I’m prying again.”

 

Mingyu chuckles, “It’s alright. No, they’re in America right now. They moved almost five years ago. I’ve been on my own since, but I don’t mind.”

 

The mood shifts and Seokmin tries to liven things up, “Are you busy next weekend?”

 

“I haven’t made any plans,” Mingyu smirks, “Why? Are you asking me on a date?”

 

Seokmin’s face is flushed.  _ It’s not my imagination, he definitely has been flirting with me.  _ “I was gonna ask if you wanted to go to Junhui’s party with me this weekend. If you want to be my… date.”

 

Mingyu’s smile resembles a child’s, “I would love to. You’ll swing by my dorm and pick me up?”

 

Seokmin nods. His burger is cold now, but his warm heart distracts him from the old taste.

 

_ D-5 _

 

_ “ _ This is pretty good, Seok,” the shorter boy adjusts his circle specs, “You’ve really been improving. Where did this burst of inspiration come from?” 

 

Seokmin is happy to hear Jihoon compliment his song, he rarely ever gives those out, “You know, just things.”

 

Jihoon arches a brow, “Sounds like you’re in love to me.”

 

“I don’t know where you’re getting that from,” Seokmin clears his throat, “It was just a good day, that’s all.”

 

“Hm, I think it’s more than that. The way that these melodies dance with each other is very flirtatious and poetic. It’s also very hesitant about chasing this love so there are sorrow notes crying in the background.”

 

“It’s nothing really. Just something I put together when I was thinking about...”  _ Mingyu, “... _ my soulmate dreams.”

 

Jihoon snaps his fingers, “I knew it was about someone. Listen, I really like this song. I feel like it could do well. How about you write some lyrics with the same emotion and we produce it for someone.”

 

Seokmin could not believe what was happening, “You mean you want someone famous to sing my song?  _ My _ song?”

 

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” The producer smirks at Seokmin and listens to the melody again.

 

_ D-4 _

 

“Why did you drag me here again?” Seokmin follows Wonwoo up and down the aisles of the rundown bookstore. Wonwoo doesn’t answer him and continues to browse. Seokmin scoffs and kicks the ground. 

 

“Seokmin, stop looking so grumpy. You’re ruining my mood.” 

 

As much as Seokmin expresses his boredom following Wonwoo around it’s much better than moaning on the floor of his dorm, which is what he would be doing at this moment. 

 

“Seok, is there something you want while we’re here?”

 

Seokmin scoffs, “What do I want from here?” He passes a shelf that peaks his interest, “A book about soulmates.” He picks up the book and hands it to Wonwoo. “I’ll take this.”

 

The older boy chuckles, “You’re in your third year of university and you’re picking up YA contemporary. I must admit, it’s a guilty pleasure of mine, as well.” They make their way to check out and Seokmin looks forward to going home and starting his book. 

 

Instead of heading home, Wonwoo takes them to a park nearby and sets down a blanket. 

 

“Let’s read here for a bit. The weather isn’t too cold nor too hot.” He wastes no time in starting his book.

 

Seokmin finds himself crying towards the end of the novel. “Seokmin, are you okay?” Wonwoo stops what he’s doing.

 

Seokmin lets out a sniffle, “I’m fine,” another sniffle, “I’m so happy they found each other.” 

 

“Jesus Christ, you’re a mess.” Wonwoo wipes his tears from his face and pats his back. “What was it about?”

 

“The girl’s soulmate was literally on the other side of the world and she thought she was never gonna find him, but she never let go of the small hope in her. She stopped trying to force everyone into her perfect soulmate mold and eventually the planets aligned and they were able to find each other. If it can happen to her, despite being millions of miles away from him, then I can definitely find mine with him allegedly already in my life.” He knows he sounds like an idiot crying over this lame plot, but he couldn’t contain his emotions. Wonwoo wraps his arms around Seokmin and lets him clear his eyes.

 

_ D-3 _

 

The day went by slow. Seokmin was alone for the first time since moving out of his apartment. His mind 

 

**Seokmin: Are you busy?**

 

**Mingyu: Why don’t you ask Wonwoo?**

 

**Seokmin: Uh. He’s out? What’s your problem?**

 

**Mingyu: Nothing. You can come over if you want…**

 

Seokmin wasn’t sure what was happening, Mingyu was never cold towards him. He contemplated for an hour or so whether or not to visit Mingyu, and ultimately decides there’s something he needs to do.

 

He’s sitting on Mingyu’s bed now, the air is thick between the two boys. 

 

“Look-“ they both began to speak. “You first,” Seokmin’s heart begins to pound.

 

“I saw you with Wonwoo yesterday,” Seokmin cocks an eyebrow, “I don’t know why, but my chest clenched when I saw you in his arms. I know we’re not anything but-”

 

“You’re right,” Seokmin cuts him off, “We’re not anything. I’m not anything with Wonwoo. And I’m not anything with you.” His stomach does somersaults.

 

Mingyu’s eyes look hurt, but Seokmin doesn’t want to fall deeper for someone who might not be his soulmate. “Seok…” Mingyu’s voice comes out as a whisper, like a bullet silently piercing through Seokmin’s heart.

 

“Mingyu. I have someone I’m looking for. I can’t do these little dates anymore. I can’t play along with your banter. They’re holding me back. They don’t mean anything. There’s someone out there waiting for me, my dreams say he’s nearby, and I have to grab him right now. I can't lose him again like I did two years ago. I can’t keep falling for people who are just going to leave me. I’m not doing it again. If I give a name to what we are, it’s just going to be taken away. And I can’t go through that. Not again. I’m sorry.”

Seokmin stands up and walks towards the door.

 

Mingyu grabs his sweater, “Wait. About your soulmate. I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

 

Seokmin shakes off the boy’s hand without turning around, “Mingyu, stop. Don’t try to make me stay.” 

 

The door closes behind him and he stands in the hallway feeling broken. He tries to convince himself that he’s done the right thing and slowly mopes back to his dorm where he buries himself in his bed for the rest of the day. 

 

Moments later he hears a soft knock on the door, “Seokmin,” Mingyu’s voice shakes, “Please let me in.”

 

Seokmin shoves his pillow over his face, “Go away.”

 

“Seok,” Mingyu sounds like he’s whispering, “Do you not remember me?” Seokmin’s stomach twists, “You really don’t remember?” He walks towards that door and rests his hand on the doorknob. A sigh involuntary escapes from his mouth as he slowly turns the handle until the door opens. Mingyu is gone and Seokmin is swallowed by his loneliness. 

 

_ D-2 _

 

Seokmin slept until one the next day. Well, he could have slept the whole day, but Jeonghan took it upon himself to give him a personal wake up call. Seokmin woke up to his best friend bouncing on top of him, “Wake. Up. It’s. One. O’clock. You’ve. Been. Asleep. All. Day.”

 

Seokmin sits up with a splitting headache and pushes him off, “What are you doing here?” He groans reaching for the painkillers on his nightstand. He puts two in his mouth and searches for a water bottle, but they’re all empty so he just swallows them dry.  

 

Jeonghan frowns, “You’re being careful with those, right?”

 

Seokmin smiles softly, “It’s just a small headache. What are we doing today?” He feels guilty for using his friend as a distraction, but Jeonghan would volunteer to be used as a pawn anyway if it would mean Seokmin being momentarily happy.

 

“Let’s go for a walk. Like we used to in high school.” 

 

Seokmin never told Jeonghan what happened between him and Mingyu, but that doesn’t stop him from knowing that something is wrong. He sluggishly throws on a hoodie and matching sweats. They walk towards the small town near the campus filled with small boutiques, overpriced coffee shops, a rundown bookstore, a park for children and couples, and smaller businesses that satisfy the average college hipster aesthetic. 

 

Now these places are burned in Seokmin’s mind with memories of his new friends. The small boutiques remind him of Jeonghan trying to find something nice for Joshua, even though his birthday isn’t even close, but he plays along because it warms him to see Jeonghan trying to make an effort. Coffee shops where him and Mingyu laughed until they cried and made up lives for every customer that walked through the doors. The bookstore that Wonwoo drags him to, and even if he pretends to want to go home, he loves being there watching his slender fingers grace each spine of the books that rest on worn out shelves. The park that releases the child inside of Mingyu. Seokmin watches him run along the green grass slowly following behind. Petting every dog that even dared to look over, with tails like tornadoes of excitement, and sloppy unexpected kisses. They played basketball on the small court or soccer with small children, and afterwards they laid on the grass and stared at the sky. And sometimes their arms would brush. And once their fingers intertwined. 

 

This town once started as an empty slate, but slowly Seokmin created his own art with small strokes, careless strokes and meaningful strokes. 

 

They passed the bar that they frequently went to with their close friends and entered the small restaurant next door. 

 

“So Junhui’s party is gonna be fun,” Jeonghan ordered for the both of them and locked eyes with Seokmin.

 

“Yeah,” he scratches the back of his head, “I don’t know if I’m gonna go.”

 

Jeonghan’s expression remains the same as if he was expecting this, “You’re gonna go.” He sighs, “Look. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I’m willing to bet my entire life savings that it’s got something to do with Mingyu. What, did you find out he’s not your soulmate?”

 

Seokmin can feel his anger rising, “It’s none of your business,” he hates how Jeonghan can throw around that question like it means nothing to him, “Must be easy for you to ask that. I just want to find him and stop overthinking every detail. Every person I pass on the street, my mind can’t help but wonder if they’re the one. The random boy who asked to borrow my eraser haunts my thoughts. Every party we go to I’m surrounded by unfamiliar faces. How am I supposed to match my clues with everyone that I pass? And Mingyu…” He swallows his name, drier than the pills he had taken hours before, “Mingyu is just getting in the way.” The waitress serves their food, but Jeonghan leans in and encourages him to keep talking. Seokmin wonders how he gets him to speak so easily when he was angry two seconds ago, but continues with his voice low, “I think about him every day. The way his nose scrunches when he laughs. His tongue imperfectly forming words that gives him a small lisp. A cute lisp. The way he says my name, a playful tone, like a puppy begging for attention.” Seokmin pauses, “But that’s over. He’s out of my life now and it’s for the better.”

 

Jeonghan smirks, “So you’ll come to the party?” 

 

“Yeah.”

 

Seokmin knew Jeonghan wasn’t going to force advice or pat his back, and that’s why he’s so easy to open up to. There are no words that will make things easier for him. They both were aware that Jeonghan was only trying to open the bottle of emotions that Seokmin has been filling for the past couple of months, and it worked. And he feels a tiny bit better.

 

“Hey let’s go in here,” Jeonghan pointed to a jewelry store. An untouched location. They walk in and the bells chime. A middle aged woman greets them from behind the counter and they greet her back. Jeonghan walks over to the watches lined up inside the clear glass box, “Do you like the one with the black or brown wristband?”

 

Seokmin takes a closer look, “I actually like the white one the best.”

 

Jeonghan chuckles, “There’s no way he’d take care of it. He’s gonna stain it within the hour I give it to him.” He realizes who the watch is for and a smile spreads across his face. Jeonghan nudges his, and Seokmin swear he’s blushing, “Shut up. It’s for his birthday. The one he’s wearing right now is so old and has cracks, it’s just a small gift.” He examines the colors again, “Maybe the brown.”

 

Seokmin wanders around the store while Jeonghan picks out the perfect shade of brown with the worker who greeted them earlier. The color brown reminds him of Mingyu. He looks at the earrings and bracelets being displayed without actually paying attention to them. Instead, he thinks about how Mingyu pours creamer into Seokmin’s coffee and watches the colors dance before becoming a solid beige. How Mingyu skips the creamer so the coffee matches his deep brown eyes. His oversized brown sweater that sometimes slips off his shoulder revealing bronze skin. He found himself envying the sun who got to kiss his skin openly with no fear or hesitation. And when Mingyu expressed any kind of dissatisfaction towards his melanin, Seokmin would immediately tell him that he is beautiful just how he is. The boy would stare at him as blood rushed to his cheeks and Seokmin would pretend not to notice. 

 

His attention is caught by two necklaces underneath smudged glass. A copper  _ M  _ and  _ S _ were tangled together. The rest of the letters were arranged alphabetically except for the two, and this was the only glass with odd fingerprints, as if something was trying to get Seokmin to look over. He stared at them as if they were attempting to speak to him. 

 

“Alright,” Jeonghan taps him on the back, “I’m all done, we can head out.”

 

The worker walks over to the necklaces and sighs, “How are there smudges already, I just cleaned it?”

 

“I-I didn’t touch it,” Seokmin only made himself look guilty.

 

The woman starts to clean the fingerprints and notices the out of place necklaces, “You didn’t move these, did you? They haven’t been touched all day.” Her tone shifts to speaking to herself, “Wait, there’s no way to get to them without my key.” She mutters something else under her breath before wishing them a good day with no further questions.

 

“That was weird. I think that place might be haunted.” 

 

Seokmin forces a chuckle, trying not to overthink what just happened, “Might be. Should we head back? It’s getting kind of late.”

 

Jeonghan links his arm with Seokmin’s, “Yeah, let’s head back. I’m glad we did this today, it really felt like it was needed for both of us.”

 

Jeonghan walks him back to his dorm building and leaves him for the night. As Seokmin walks through the halls he stops in front of Mingyu’s room. A flashback from the previous day replays in his head of Mingyu asking if Seokmin really does not remember him. He steps towards the door and rests his forehead carefully against it.  _ Who are you?  _

 

The day ended too soon and Seokmin sinks into his bed with his eyes closed. He remains like this for a few minutes until he hears the unlocking of the door and sits up. Wonwoo heads to his bed, “Mingyu was looking for you.”

 

Seokmin was surprised to hear his name, but didn’t let it show, “And?” He sounded like a child, but it was his way of coping losing something that was never his. 

 

“And nothing.” Wonwoo’s voice was colder than usual, “I’m not an owl post so don’t expect any messages. If you two have something to talk about stop being teenagers and speak to each other.”

 

Seokmin swallows, “We don’t have anything to talk about. He’s probably just upset that I broke off whatever it was that we were. We weren’t anything. I just.” He doesn’t know how to fix what he said, so he just sighs instead. “Sorry.”

 

Wonwoo sits by Seokmin and pats him on the back, “Don’t sweat it. Things will clear up soon.” Seokmin looks up at his roommate, feeling grateful for having a friend as caring as he is, even though he might seem a bit unapproachable at times. “Want me to show you this new game I just downloaded? It’ll look stupid at first, but I swear after the third attempt, you’ll be hooked.” Before Seokmin finishes his nod, Wonwoo is already opening the app on his phone. 

 

_ D-1 _

 

Seokmin is awakened by his phone ringing in his ear. He answers without opening his eyes, “Hello?”

 

“Hey!” The boy on the other line was very energetic, too lively for Seokmin, “Wanna grab some breakfast with me and Hansol? You can bring Mingyu if you want!” 

 

Seokmin’s throat tightened at the unexpected name, “Sure, I’ll see if Jeonghan or Wonwoo want to tag along. Text me the details.” Seungkwan agreed and hung up, immediately texting Seokmin the address of the diner. He slowly rolls over, “Hey, Wonwoo, do you want to-” Empty. 

 

**Seokmin: Double date breakfast with Boo and Hansol?**

 

**Jeonghan: When are you just gonna ask me out instead?**

 

**Seokmin: Great, I’ll swing by your apartment.**

 

Sometimes Seokmin wonders if he means it whenever he jokes around like that, but then he remembers the type of person Jeonghan is. They’re each other’s best friends and that humor was comfortable, there was no way he was serious. Plus, he’s madly in love with Joshua. 

 

He stops in front of Mingyu’s room and stares at the door. His arm raised, as if being controlled by some puppeteer, and knocks twice. Nothing. He knocks harder and presses his ear against the door. No movement, he must be out. 

 

He arrives at Jeonghan’s apartment and tips his Lyft driver, which always remind him of when he first met Mingyu. He’s still too poor to tip more than a five dollar bill, so not much has changed since then. He casually walks into the apartment, “Jeonghan you really need to start locking the doors.” He wanders through the living room to his bedroom when the bathroom door opens in his face. 

 

“Oh, shit! I’m sorry,” the boy looks up, “Seokmin?”

 

“Wasn’t expecting you here, either.” He’s grinning now, “Joshua.”

 

Joshua’s blushing now, “It’s not what you think. I drank too much last night and he just let me crash here.

 

“He’s your soulmate, why are you getting so shy? You should be doing more than just crashing here after half a shot of soju.” Seokmin pats his back, “Are you joining us for breakfast?” Joshua flashes a soft smile and nods. Seokmin scans the apartment, “By the way, where’s Jeonghan?” 

 

“Oh, fuck. He went to go pick you up at the dorms.”

 

“What? I told him I was gonna swing by here. Fucking idiot.”

 

**Seokmin: I’m at your apartment, dumbass.**

 

**Jeonghan: Oh? Guess I misread. It’s alright, there was something I wanted to care of, anyway.**

 

**Seokmin: Well, hurry up, we’re starving.**

 

They planned for breakfast but met for brunch. Nobody seemed to mind, because breakfast food always tastes better when it’s for lunch. Seokmin watches the pairs naturally support each other. Hansol cut up Seungkwan’s pancakes while he was telling them a story involving New York and a homeless person with a broken violin, he was observing more than listening. He watches Jeonghan wipe ketchup from the corners of Joshua’s mouth with his fingers.

 

“Seokmin, are you alright?” Seungkwan looks worried.

 

Seokmin forces a smile, “Yeah, sorry, I was just spacing out.”

 

“Is everything okay with Mingyu?”

 

His chest tightens, he opens his mouth but Jeonghan speaks in instead, “Mingyu’s leaving.” Seokmin snaps his head towards the boy nonchalantly eating a strip of bacon, “I saw him with a big suitcase on campus.”

 

Seokmin tries not to react but he can feel his body heating up. “Seok, you don’t look good. Are you sure you’re alright?” Seungkwan reaches over the table to touch his arm which causes Seokmin to flinch. 

 

“I’m alright,” he stands and stumbles a bit. “Something came up. Uh, I need to go. I forgot there’s an assignment due by midnight.”

 

“We’re on spring break,” Hansol chimes.

 

Seokmin’s already halfway out the door, “Then I forgot to feed Wonwoo. I’ll see you later.”

 

He’s running back to the campus, weaving through people and traffic. His legs felt like they were on fire, but he didn’t notice. His mind was too preoccupied with Mingyu, and him leaving, and Jeonghan’s smirk back at the diner.

 

He reached the campus fairly quickly and ran to Mingyu’s dorm, banging on the door until his fists went numb. After no answer, he gently put his hand on the doorknob, twisted and pushed. The room was empty. All of his clothes he would organize by color, the pile of untouched textbooks in the corner of the room, the bed they would fall asleep on together while studying. All gone. 

 

Seokmin takes a seat where his bed used to lay and leans his head against the wall. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep. All of the sleep he lost over the past few weeks, due to his thoughts clouding his mind, finally caught up to him at that moment. 

 

He wakes up in his soulmate dream setting, a place he hasn’t seen in so long. 

 

“Reaching you is so much harder nowadays.” The voice sounds at peace, but a bit somber.

 

Seokmin remains quiet.

 

“I believe this will be our last meeting. If everything goes as it is supposed to, this is it.”

 

“How did you become,” Seokmin gestures with his arms, “this.”

 

There was a small sigh from the disembodied voice, “I was once human. I was once like you. I was so desperate to find my soulmate. I traveled around the country until I finally found them. They were so happy, how could I just barge into their life and take away the happiness they found in someone else? It is possible to reject your soulmate and live a peaceful life without them or with somebody else, but I could not. I let the loneliness eat me until I was taken by my dream representative that saved me from my despair.”

 

Seokmin doesn’t even realize he’s crying, “I’m sorry.”

 

The voice laughs softly, “It’s okay. That was years ago. I see this more as salvation than a punishment. I get to help those so they don’t end up like me. I help a lot of people, but you, Seok, reminded me of myself from the moment I met you. That’s why I tend to be a bit more aggressive with you, I don’t want you to repeat my mistakes.” A slight pause fills the void, “Maybe that’s also why this goodbye is a bit hard for me.”

 

The first bell chimes. 

 

“But, I haven’t found him. I don’t think.”

 

“But you have.” Seokmin’s stomach twists, “Stop holding back.”

 

The last warning bell goes off. 

 

“Goodbye, Seokmin.” 

 

_ D-Day _

 

Seokmin wakes up in his bed the next morning. 

 

“Is falling asleep in random places a hobby of yours?” Wonwoo sits across from Seokmin.

 

“How did I get here?”

 

“Jeonghan texted me asking me to bring you back to the dorm.”

 

Seokmin could tell that Wonwoo was curious, but isn’t the type to ask about personal things, “It was Mingyu’s room. He’s gone. And I think.” He looks at the ceiling trying to stop the tears from falling, “I think he’s gone forever.”

 

Before Seokmin could let himself cry Jeonghan barges into the dorm. He jumps onto Seokmin’s bed and waves at Wonwoo, “Thanks for picking this idiot up. What are you wearing tonight, Seok? I went to the mall with Hansol and Seungkwan yesterday, y’know, after you ditched us. I picked up something that says ‘I’m not a slut, but I can be if you want me to.’ What do you think?”

 

“I think I’m not going tonight.”

 

Jeonghan rolls his eyes, “Shut up. You’re going. If you don’t, it will be the biggest mistake of your life.” He pull Seokmin’s face close, “Just trust me on this, okay?”

 

After Seokmin’s finished getting dressed, Jeonghan makes sure to shower them both in cologne.

 

Seokmin is coughing, trying to swat away the cloud, “Jesus Christ, what is that?”

 

“Axe,” Jeonghan looks at the bottle, “It had the best reviews online. I think I sprayed too much.”

 

“You fucking think?”

 

“Let’s get going.” Jeonghan grabs Seokmin’s wrist, “Tonight will be the night you’ll remember forever. Well, maybe parts of it.”

 

The apartment is packed by the time they arrive. There’s someone pissing out the window, everyone is drinking way too much, smoking way too much, hooking up with people they’ll regret in the morning. So, the party was going great.

 

Jeonghan hands Seokmin a drink and whispers into his ear, “Let loose.” He points to a boy across the room who is scanning Seokmin, “He’s checking you out. Have fun tonight.”

 

Something inside of Seokmin feels guilty for being at the party, but the alcohol is filling his system now and his mood begins to shift. He grabs the unknown guy Jeonghan mentioned earlier and begins to dance with him. The boy yells something while they’re dancing that sounded like it could’ve been an introduction, but the music's too loud to hear him and Seokmin really doesn’t care. 

 

Every sip Seokmin takes burns his throat, so he shifts his mouth’s focus from his cup to the stranger’s lips. Their kissing becomes rougher but Seokmin can’t feel anything. There are cheers from the other people on the dancefloor. This fuels Seokmin to push the boy against the wall, putting on a show for his audience. He moves from his mouth, to the boy’s neck, to his chest. 

 

“Get a room!” A voice yells. 

 

“Can I join?” Another voice.

 

Seokmin smirks at all of this attention he’s not used to. He grabs the stranger by his shirt and takes him down a hallway, looking for an empty room. He opens a door to see Jeonghan and Joshua with their tongues down each other’s throats. He shuts the door and moves on. 

 

They find a closet that’s too small, but it’s empty so it’ll have to do. Seokmin’s already taken off the other boy’s shirt when he hears a slurred voice outside of the door, “Look who’s here! Rich boy got us covered. Did you bring that Gucci vodka good shit?”

 

Seokmin barges out of the closet with his shirt buttoned down and his belt unbuckled. He scans the room, ignoring the eyes that are also on him because they are not the deep chocolate eyes he is looking for. He locks his gaze on the tallest person in the room. Even through the alcohol, weed and puke he can still distinguish that scent that makes him feel alive. 

 

Mingyu is staring back at him. It’s as if they are the only two in the room, until Seokmin feels the boy he abandoned in the closet tugging on his jeans. Seokmin’s embarrassment turns his stomach, or maybe he just has to vomit. He feels everything about to come back up, so he runs to the bathroom. He hunches over the toilet but nothing happens. The door closes behind him followed by a hand patting his back. 

 

Mingyu takes a seat on the floor, “Looks like you’re having fun.” 

 

“What are you doing here?” Seokmin feels his emotions mixing with the alcohol and loses control of his tongue, “I thought you were leaving. Why are you still here? You’re just making my life harder than it already is. Just go.”

 

Seokmin can feel Mingyu’s smirk even when he’s not looking at him, “Did you find your soulmate yet? Is it that guy that was clinging onto you from earlier? He was cute, I guess.”

 

“It’s none of your business.” 

 

“You still haven’t changed.” Seokmin doesn’t respond. “When you were younger you were just as stubborn. And when you get too close to something it begins to scare you, so you push them away. Like when we found that stray kitten in that bush near your house that one time and we took care of him. We gave him a bath, stole a can of cat food from the grocery store, made a home for him out of cardboard. But when I asked you what we should name him, your mood changed. The little boy who held that kitten like his own suddenly disappeared. And you said.”

 

“If I give this cat a name it’ll make him mine. And he can never be mine. If I make this cat mine he’ll just be taken away from me.” Seokmin’s voice is trembling.

 

“So you do remember.”

 

Seokmin turns his head to Mingyu, who is already looking at him. “Sophomore year. You didn’t play for the basketball team. Why?”

 

Mingyu holds his eye contact, “I wasn’t here. Sophomore year I went to America because my father was in the hospital and I needed to take care of my mother. I knew who you were since we were small, but I never had the chance to say anything because every time I was close, I was sent away to a different country.”

 

Tears are streaming down Seokmin’s cheeks. His throat feels raw and dry from all of the times he yelled at himself, blaming him for everything that went wrong in life. Flashbacks from his lonely nights after his and Soonyoung’s breakup crashed into his mind with the speed of a thousand miles per hour. Every touch Seokmin has ever felt that weren’t Mingyu’s disappeared from his senses. He wanted nothing but to drain the alcohol from his veins and tell Mingyu his mess of mind so they can slowly organize his thoughts.

 

Mingyu pulls Seokmin into his chest, “I’m your soulmate.” 

 

Seokmin pulls away and stares into Mingyu’s eyes as the taller boy wipes away his tears. He gently presses his lips against the other’s boy’s mouth, and Seokmin finally feels like he has found his purpose. 

 

Seokmin tastes like alcohol but Mingyu washes that away. He pulls away only to breathe, but catches himself sinking deeper into Mingyu’s eyes. He remembers the hurtful words that he said to Mingyu in the past and is overwhelmed with embarrassment and his emotions are being controlled by all of the shots he had taken beforehand. Tears begin to form into his eyes again and his words slur the more he rambles, “I’m sorry, Mingyu. I’ve said some terrible things that you didn’t deserve. I fell for you the moment I saw you in the cab that one day. My eyes were glued on you and I found myself looking for you wherever I went. I was being selfish. I pushed you away because I didn’t want to get hurt again, but I hurt you in the process. I’m sorry is not enough.” His stomach growls, clearly upset with all of the liquor he’s consumed. 

 

Mingyu chuckles and stands up, “Let’s get out of here. We’ll see if you remember this in the morning.”

 

Seokmin wakes up with the meanest hangover in a bed he does not recognize. He turns around to be faced with Mingyu sleeping soundly next to him. He’s reminiscent of all the times they would fall asleep next to each other, but this time felt different. 

 

He stared at Mingyu until he woke up. Mingyu slowly opened his eyes, shyly exposing his canines. “Do you remember what we talked about last night?”

 

Seokmin’s kept his face straight, “No.”

 

Mingyu’s smile disappears almost immediately. 

 

“I’m kidding,” Seokmin laughs as he rolls on top of Mingyu kissing him maybe twenty times. “It’s a night I’ll never forget.”

 

Mingyu’s smile returns even wider than ever. He looks at the time, “I made breakfast plans with Seungkwan, Hansol, Jeonghan, and Joshua. But we still have time, if you want me to give you a morning you’ll never forget.”

 

Seokmin’s gathering his clothing off the floor, “This is the apartment that my Lyft picked you up from on the first day of classes, huh?”

 

Mingyu’s looking through his closet for two outfits, “It is, I’m surprised you remember that.” He pulls out a yellow shirt and gives it to Seokmin, “I love how you look in yellow.”

 

Seokmin puts on the shirt, “Of course I remember, I couldn’t get you out of my head since that day.” He looks at the suitcase that once laid in Mingyu’s room, “Hey, why did you move out of your dorm?”

 

“My parents have been calling me nonstop to get me to visit them in America, so I was gonna go and stay with them for a bit.” Mingyu bites his bottom lip, “I also didn’t want to see you suffer because of me anymore, so I wanted to give you space.”

 

Seokmin embraces Mingyu, “I don’t know what brought you to last night’s party, but thank God it did.”

 

“Don’t thank God, thank Jeonghan.”

 

Seokmin pulls away, “What?”

 

“He stopped me while I was moving out of my dorm and gave me the address. I refused but, holy shit, there’s something in him that’s so convincing. I found myself canceling my flight that night.” 

 

“That damn lawyer.” Seokmin laughs, “I bet he knew this whole time, too.

 

Seokmin’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He looks at the screen, although he already knows who it’s from. 

 

**Jeonghan: We’re starving, hurry the fuck up.**

 

**Seokmin: Sorry, I was rearranging my boyfriend’s guts. We’ll be right there.**

 

**Jeonghan: That’s an image I want erased from my mind.**

 

**Seokmin: Welcome to my world.**

 

They arrive at the diner that they all go to way too much. Seungkwan in messing with the jukebox, Hansol is looking over the menu, and Jeonghan is looking at Joshua while he fixes the time on his new watch. It feels like home to Seokmin to be with them, except there’s something missing. 

 

“Finally!” Jeonghan waves his hand, “We’re over here, lovebirds!” 

 

Seokmin and Mingyu take a seat next to each other. “Joshua, your watch is nice.” Seokmin gives Jeonghan a playful smirk, “Sorry if we kept you waiting long.”

 

“We actually invited another couple of people, if you don’t mind.” Jeonghan points at the three empty seats, one belonging to Seungkwan who is now accusing the jukebox of stealing his quarter. Seokmin looks at him with a confused face when the diner door opens once again. 

 

“Is it fashionably late if it’s breakfast with a group of friends, or are we just dicks?” Wonwoo walks in alone. 

 

Seokmin is happy to see him, he’s what was missing from the group. “We?”

 

Junhui walks in a few seconds after, “The ‘pull’ sign on the door should really be bigger, some of us can’t read that well.” He stands next to Wonwoo and their fingers intertwine. 

 

All eyes are on the unexpected couple, but Seokmin is the only one surprised. “When? What? How? Wait.” He looks at Wonwoo for answers, but just receives a shrug and a shy smile.

 

Seungkwan comes back to the table flashing Hansol his famous puppy dog eyes, “Can I get another quarter?”

 

“Are you playing arcade games? The jukebox only needs a quarter for a song.” Hansol reaches into his pocket for change.

 

“We don’t need the jukebox.” Seokmin grabs Mingyu’s hand and squeezes, “Let’s make our own music.”

 

“Let me start off the song.” Jeonghan clears his throat, “You owe me twenty bucks.”

 

Seokmin scoffs, “For what?”

 

Jeonghan pulls out his phone and shows a screenshot from the first day of class, “Right there. I put 20 bucks on Mr. Perfect being your soulmate.”

 

Mingyu lets out a small chuckle. Seokmin’s face is flushed, “I’m gonna kill you.”

 

“How about, as the subject of this bet, I tweak it a little bit?” Mingyu’s canines peak through his mischievous smile, “Seokminnie’s got the bill.”

 

“Oh yeah.” The look in Wonwoo’s eyes change, “What about that sugar daddy you texted me about?”

 

Seokmin feels betrayed, “I got the bill! Let’s move on!”

 

Their food arrives after they’ve ordered and all the couples are taking care of one another. A wave of dejavú washes over Seokmin until he feels a gentle squeeze on his thigh.

 

“You alright, babe?” Mingyu sweeps Seokmin’s bang from his eyes.

 

“Yeah. I’m okay now.” He gives Mingyu a peck on his mouth, which causes the other boys, mainly Jeonghan, to cheer obnoxiously. Seokmin’s curiosity gets the best of him, “Jeonghan can you come with me to the bathroom?”

 

“They’re gonna blow each other in the bathroom.” Junhui laughs at his own joke and Wonwoo’s taste suddenly makes sense. 

 

The bathroom door closes behind them and Seokmin whips his head towards Jeonghan, “Spill the tea. What happened with you and Joshua?” 

 

“Impatient bitch. You couldn’t wait until later?” Seokmin stares back, waiting for the story. Jeonghan sighs, “Alright, fine. After you had left me to complete your hoe agenda, I started dancing with some random dude and we were getting a bit touchy, until Joshua walked in. I had invited him but he said he didn’t want to come, so when he walked through the doors it felt like someone punched me in the stomach. You know me, I usually don’t care, but something felt different. His eyes looked tired when he looked over at me. I felt like I needed to take care of him.”

 

Wonwoo cracks the door, “Are y’all done yet? The boys are ready to go.” 

 

Seokmin hands him his card, “Give it to Mingyu when the damage is done.” Wonwoo takes the card and Seokmin encourages Jeonghan to continue. 

 

“To make a long story short,” Jeonghan clears his throat. “I kicked out a couple that was occupying the bedroom, I probably saved them an STD or two if I’m being honest, and we just talked things out. I didn’t think he was suffering all this time, but he’s always been so supportive. We cried for a bit and then went back to my apartment where I gave him his present. I was waiting for the right time, maybe take him out to dinner or something, but what’s more romantic than being a drunk crying mess apologizing for being a slut?” Jeonghan laughs and pushes his hair back, “We don’t regret anything. Things worked out just fine and we’re closer than ever. The timing even worked out, especially with you and Mingyu. Any explanations there?”

 

Seokmin scoffed, “You should know better than anyone.”

 

“Uh, no offence,” A voice coming from one of the stalls startles them. “It’s a very touching story and I don’t want to ruin the mood, but it’s kind of uncomfortable to take a shit right now.”

 

Seokmin and Jeonghan hold back their laughter. They apologize before leaving the restroom to return to the table. The only two left were Joshua and Mingyu, relieved to see their boyfriends finally come back. 

 

“Don’t you think I’ve done enough waiting?” Joshua teased before taking Jeonghan’s hand.

 

They say their goodbyes before leaving the diner. Seokmin pulls Jeonghan into a hug and whispers a thank you into his ear.

 

When they arrive back to the apartment, Mingyu hands Seokmin is card. “What were you and Jeonghan talking about?”

 

Seokmin’s changing into something more comfortable, “I just wanted to know what happened with Joshua. I’ve been watching those two tip-toe around each other for so long, it’s so nice to see them finally together.”

 

Mingyu grabs Seokmin’s wrist mid shirt swap, “And I’ve been tip-toeing around you for too long. But I promise from now I’ll make all of my steps loud and clear to remind you that I am here.”

 

Seokmin wraps his arms around Mingyu’s waist and smiles.

 

“So, what about that sugar daddy Wonwoo was talking about?”

 

Seokmin let’s laughs obnoxiously and pushes Mingyu onto his bed, “I think there’s something a lot more exciting we can be doing than dumb stories.” 

 

He plants kisses on his favorite parts on Mingyu. He starts with the mole on his cheek, down to his neck, then both his collarbones. If it was possible to kiss every inch of his body, Seokmin would be the one to do it.

 

They spent the remainder of the day in each other’s company, falling asleep with their legs intertwined. 

 

Seokmin’s mind takes him away one last time. 

 

“Seokmin, I see everything worked out well!” The voice sounded like he was smiling.

 

“And it’s all thanks to you.” Seokmin put all the pieces together after the party, “It was you back at the jewelry store when I was with Jeonghan, right? You had messed with the necklaces. I don’t know how you two teamed up, but thank you.”

 

The voice laughs, “So you managed to figure that out so easily, but it took you years to realize it was Mingyu? It’s true. Jeonghan had spoken with his representative and we pulled a couple of strings to get you two to be at the same place. And yes, that was me back at the shop. You have amazing friends around you, Seok. It’s time for you to finally be happy.”

 

Seokmin sounded like a broken record, but he didn’t know what else to say. “Thank you, really.” He meant it with every bone in his body. 

 

The bell rings and the voice bids his final farewell, “No, Thank you, Seokmin. Dream daddy, out.”

 

Seokmin open his eyes. Mingyu’s breath is soft while he sleeps and his face is calm. It’s a view that he’s been waking up to more often, but every time Mingyu is more breathtaking than the last. Seokmin places his hand on the boy’s beautiful golden skin, reminding him that he is in fact real.

 

He watches Mingyu slowly open his eyes and pulls him into his chest, wrapping his arms around him. His warmth dances on Seokmin’s skin to a song that bloomed inside of his heart.

 

“I love you, Mingyu.”

 

“I love you, too, Seokmin.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm actually really happy with how this turned out and I want to thank Gian and Kanira for all their help. They encouraged me to keep writing and gave me the confidence to publish this. I love you both so much!


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